Community, Consensus, and the Trajectory of Progress Reflections on the Dublin Core experience and what it tells us about the future Stuart Weibel OCLC Office of Research Director, Dublin Core Metadata Initiative April 10, 2002

2 Disclaimers I dont like to make predictions… especially about the future….

3 Metadata and Value Aggregated, structured data is information… Aggregated, structured information is knowledge…. Metadata is a representational tool to assist in the structured aggregation of data into information, and information into knowledge: - facilitated discovery - organization - filtering - management - exchange - syndication

4 Dublin Core Factoids 9 workshops in 7 countries on 4 continents 1000 attendees 30 languages 7 governments Museums, libraries, government agencies, supra- national agencies, commerce, e-publishing, archives…. Cross disciplinary discovery of information resources using the Internet

5 Stages of Dublin Core Development An idea over coffee (1994) A workshop (1995) A workshop series A community-based metadata initiative A maintenance agency supporting a formal standard Open consensus-building community for the development of metadata frameworks and vocabularies

6 Consensus: What does it mean to agree? IETF: Rough consensus and working code A balance between really good and good enough But… Is it simple enough? Is it rich enough? Optional and extensible have been guiding principles from the start

7 Creation of Value in the Marketplace of Products Value Creation Process Management Stockholders Raw materials Products and Services Customers

8 Creation of Value in the Standards Marketplace Derivative value created by adopters in applications, data, and services Stakeholders Value Creation Process Management Ideas Social Capital Stakeholders become Adopters

9 Motivating the Creation of Value Marketplace of Products & Services Profit from value creation Competitive advantage (a better mousetrap) Appropriate resources (raw materials, capital, and human resources Standards Marketplace Common problems Shared values Trust Social capital Marshalling intellectual resources

10 Characteristics of a Community of Consensus Common problems and objectives –Vision –Motivations Shared values –Openness and the meritocracy of ideas –Global scope –Neutral models –Collaboration Trust

11 What is the value we are creating? Easier discovery Better organization Improved manageability Greater liquidity of information Network Value: the more a standard is used, the more valuable is the data, both to users of the information and the organizations that manage it

12 The Problems Global consensus is hard –Language, geography, and legacy practices are barriers Documenting and communicating results is hard Openness means continuous recapitulation for newcomers Better is the enemy of good enough

13 More Problems Committee design and consensus are not the same (but they are hard to tell apart) Starters and finisher are generally different people Juicy stuff versus extra starch Researchers and practitioners have different outlooks

14 Last, but not least… What is the business model for the maintenance and evolution of a global information standard? How do you pay for the care and maintenance of something the value of which depends on being freely accessible? Who harvests the value, and how can that harvest help to sustain its evolution?

15 Standards creation as an act of faith

16 One Prediction… DC-2002 –Workshop –Tutorials –Conference October Florence, Italy Call for Participation will be issued in April

17 And now for some substance… Metadata - from the Dublin Core 2001 Conference. Journal of Digital Information (Special Issue). Volume, Issue 2 Dublin Core Metadata Initiative Progress Report and Workplan for Makx Dekkers and Stuart L. Weibel. D-Lib Magazine. February 2002 Volume 8 Number 2 Metadata Principles and Practicalities. Duval, Hodges, Sutton and Weibel. D-Lib Magazine. April 2002 Volume 8 Number 4